Trump’s Pick for U.S. Ambassador Is Another Insult to Canada

At Least Sarah Palin May Have Been Good for a Few Laughs

A Commentary by Doug Draper

Posted October 24, 2017 on Niagara At Large

Back around last April Fools’ Day, stories began circulating that Donald Trump might pick America’s oh-so-loopy Tea Party princess, Sarah Palin as his recently installed autocracy’s ambassador to Canada.

I remember fellow Canadians expressing horror over the thought thatthe former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate would be given anything to do with a country she didn’t even know was America’s largest partner while she was running for an office that would have her sitting a heartbeat away from the presidency – until, of course, these Canadians decided this must be an April Fools’ joke.

Yet having Palin seated on the throne in U.S. Embassy headquarters in Ottawa might at least offer a little SNL-like humour as we watch her finally discover that there is something called the North American Free Trade Agreement her country signed a few decades ago with Canada and Mexico just before her boss in the White House rips it up, which Trump probably will unless terms are agreed to that could possibly ravage dairy farmers, auto workers and people working in other key sectors of Canada’s economy.

With apologies to those who would lose their jobs, perhaps the SNL producers could even invite Tina Faye back to reprise her dead-ringer Palin impersonation and do a skit on it.

Yet as unfunny as that may actually be to many of us, it’s a knee slapper compared to the knuckle-dragging, climate denying, billionaire coal-mining baron’s trophy wife that Trump ultimately chose for the job.

The new U.S. ambassador to Canada, Trump fundraiser from the climate denying, coal-mining regions of Kentucky, Kelly Craft

In a regal ceremony in Ottawa this October 23rd, Kelly Craft was officially welcomed to her new role as the United States of America’s first female ambassador to Canada – a post she was awarded after and she and her coal-mining hubby Joe, while both shamelessly mouthing the alt-right doctrine that climate change is some sort of a left-wing conspiracy or made-in-China hoax, raised large amounts of money in their home state of Kentucky for the campaign of then-presidential candidate Donald ‘I Dig Coal’ Trump.

One of the first things Craft did during the Ottawa ceremony this October 24th was insult the legacy of recently deceased Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie with a line that must have been written for her out of doubt that she knows who Gord Downie was, that referred to him as Canada’s “favourite son” who used his music, art and writing to bring people closer together.

One can only imagine what Gord Downie might think of this coming from the mouth of someone who used her billionaire advantage to help elect someone who pushed almost every fear, anger and hate button imaginable to divide and conquer his way to the most powerful office in the land.

One can only wonder what Gord Downie, who was also a strong environmentalist dedicated for many years to organizations like Lake Ontario Waterkeeper in efforts to protect the shared resources of Canadians and Americans, would think about someone who supports a U.S. president bent on gutting environmental protections invoking his name in the same halls of government where, only a few months ago, he was presented with an Order of Canada metal for that and all his other fine works.

New U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft with Canada’s new Governor General, Julie Payette, during this October 23rd’s official greeting ceremony.

As for environmental protection, following the October 23rd welcoming ceremony, Craft used a CBC interview to temper her past climate denying stance, saying she appreciates all of the scientific evidence on climate change.

“I think that both sides have their own results, from their studies, and I appreciate and respect all of the scientific evidence on climate change,” she said during the interview with CBC’s Rosemary Barton.

Sorry Madam Ambassador, but there are no longer two sides when it comes to the science on climate change. With the exception of a few outliers in the scientific community who either work for or get most of their research funding from the oil or coal industries, you are either on the side of science or on the side of stupid, and it is pretty clear which side you and your boss in the Oval Office are on.

It is hard to see how Canada can work with or benefit in any way from a relationship with a United States that has a person as president who has no capacity for fairness, balance or compromise and who wants to drag his country back to times when the earth’s reports are plundered for the short-term gain of a few and where anything goes.

If I were the Prime Minister of Canada I would have sent this U.S. ambassador packing before she had a chance to utter Gord Donnie’s name. But Justin Trudeau is a gracious person (maybe too gracious) and has more patience and class than I do, which is probably why he is the leader of the country and someone like me is not.

But at the very least, I think Justin Trudeau should tell Kelly Craft that her employment status in Canada is precarious and that her right of entry here could be revoked at any moment, depending on what reckless thing her boss in the White House is quite likely to do to place the quality of life – and life itself – in even more danger than he has already for people on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

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“A politician thinks of the next election. A leader thinks of the next generation.” – Bernie Sanders

2 responses to “Trump’s Pick for U.S. Ambassador Is Another Insult to Canada”

Pruitt, Devos and now Kelly Craft … the list goes on and on as fundraisers and personal friends (or their partners) fill the most important posts in the American government. The idiots have inherited America. This isn’t worse than Palin, it’s just as bad. The truly amazing part is the chief moron finally remembered to appoint an ambassador to Canada. And it turns out we would have been better off had no one reminded him. She actually said she supports “both sides” when it comes to climate change. Equivalent of saying she supported both sides in World War II. You laugh, and then you cry.

Let’s see, blonde, stupid, big Republican donor, married 3 times, no experience, last marriage to a coal executive, from Kentucky….YUP, she’s perfect. Wonder what she even knows about Canada. would love to have her do a quiz and see.